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Sunday, September 11, 2011

In Tribute- 9/11

I'll tell you straight out that this post has nothing to do with frugality.
Nothing to do with parenting.
Nothing to do with anything I usually write about, but I felt it was important nonetheless.

Today, 10 years ago, I was sitting in my 9th grade classroom between periods, and my sister sought me out to tell me "An airplane just flew into one of the Twin Towers in New York." I didn't quite get the magnitude of it at the time, assuming it was a small private jet that lost its direction and tragically hit into a building. Then when not long after that, we heard from our teachers that a second plane just hit the second Twin Tower, and then we knew that it was more than a fluke and it was serious news indeed.
We didn't learn much after that, and the school was considering early dismissal, afraid because there also was a terror scare in our city. People were panicking.
I went home at noon, as I usually did (I was homeschooled for half the day that year), and spent the afternoon with my family glued to the non stop commentary on the news.

I didn't live in New York. I had relatives there, but the magnitude didn't hit me fully. I mean it did, but I didn't know anyone in the Twin Towers. It was scary to think about, the fact that these people were just sitting at their desk at work when their lives were either ended or completely altered in a huge way.
And then I found out that yes, even though I didn't live in NY, the tragedy became very personal indeed to me.

My cousin Aaron, my second cousin who I'd never met, 24 years old, was working as a broker for Cantor Fitzgerald on one of the upper floors. After that fateful day, he was never seen or heard from again.
One of the many who perished, with no remains left behind; he must have been incinerated upon impact.
This cousin of mine; we shared a great grandfather, and I never got a chance to meet him, because some people decided he deserved to die because he was an American.
So sad.
So sad that I never got to meet this cousin that apparently was so special that 800 people showed up for his memorial service! At such a young age to have made such an impact on people's lives shows something really special about him.
One of the things my cousin was known for was his always trying to live his life to the fullest, and to make people happy and learn to enjoy life.
I'd like to think that maybe, maybe, his legacy lives on through me, and through this blog, trying to make the best life possible, even with not much money, to try to live life to the fullest even on a very tight budget.

RIP Cousin Aaron.

Aaron, you will be missed. Too bad I never got to meet you. I'm sure I would have liked you, after everything I've heard about you.

I know I'm not the only one personally affected by 9/11. Every American's life was changed forever on that day.

I must say that I'm proud to be an American. The way the US united in solidarity after such a tragedy spoke wonders about the American spirit.

This song brings me to tears every time I hear it and I felt I needed to include it in my post.

My life actually was even more personally affected by the 9/11 terror attacks.

My father is a doctor for the US military. Because of 9/11 and the ensuing war on terror the US engaged in, my father was deployed to Iraq for one year, where he spent his time as part of a Stryker brigade, getting shot at, battered around, and losing dear friends of his.

My dad and some of his fellow soldiers in Baghdad.

My dad came back from Iraq changed. He injured his shoulder permanently being thrown around the MEV (Medical Evacuation Vehicle) and is still suffering from it today. He missed his eldest daughter's wedding while stationed in Iraq. And he came home with a whole new appreciation of life and a different attitude.

My father is being deployed yet again within the next few months, this time to Kuwait. Please, let my dad come back home safely.

God bless our soldiers. God bless all those who died on 9-11. God bless all the heroes of 9/11. God bless the USA.

How were you personally affected by 9/11? Do you know any people who got killed that day? Where were you when you heard what happened?Do you have any friends or relatives in the US military?

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Hello there! I'm Penny, author of Penniless Foodie in the Wild, an adaptable cookbook for frugal people like myself who like to eat great food. I'm a mom of four who loves to blog about how to have the best life possible while living on a relatively low income. We're a "crunchy", gluten-free family, homeschooling, homebirthing, autism, natural parenting family.I'm always happy to receive emails from readers at pennilessparenting@yahoo.com.

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